03.09.2010

Bishops and the secretary cut the first sod for the new cathedral-museum

Hildesheim (bph) A great start for the new cathedral-museum: On Friday afternoon bishop Norbert Trelle and the Lower Saxony secretary for science and culture, professor Dr. Johanna Wanka, cut the first sod for the headbuilding of the new cathedral-museum in front of the former St. Anthony's church. The new museum is to be built until the diocese's jubilee in the year 2015 including the former church – as subproject of the cathedral-restoration.

At cutting the first sod (starting on the left): Architect prof. Johannes Schilling, Lord Mayor Kurt Machens, Lower Saxony secretary for science and culture pro. Dr. Johanna Wanka, bishop Norbert Trelle and suffragan bishop (retired) Hans-Georg Koitz origin of photo material: bph

Apart from the bishop and the secretary also the Hildesheim cathedral-dechant and the retired suffragan bishop Hans-Georg Koitz, Hildesheim's Lord Mayor Kurt Machens and the architect prof. Johannes Schilling from Cologne spaded as well. "The new building of the cathedral-museum puts the visitor in a position, to experience St. Mary's cathedral even better as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage. Hildesheim will be profiting as momentous place of Lower Saxony's culture", secretary Wanka said at cutting the first sod. The secretary was thanked by bishop Trelle for her friendly attendance of the whole procedure and pointed out the financial support by the federal state government. "Not least because of your help we finally can dignifiedly present one of the most valuable cathedral-treasures in a few years", he told the secretary.

The new building of the cathedral-museum is a sophisticated architectural project. The plans of the architect prof. Johannes Schilling make provisions for an alteration of St. Anthony's, which was profaned the past year, into a museum and to add a headbuilding. The former main aisle will be appareled with a dais from which you can see the rood screen in the headbuilding. The rood screen stood in St. Anthony's since the rebuilding of the cathedral in 1960. The facade remains maintained.

Diocese's conservator prof. Dr. Karl Bernhard Kruse used the last months to dig in and in front of the profaned church. Thereby he ran across remnants of the cathedral's wall, which was built by the saint bishop Bernward about the second last turn of the millennium. The wall will be integrated into the headbuilding and will be seen there later.

The two-storied headbuilding will be there until the middle of next year. Then the interior works of St. Anthony's begin. At first a floor slab will be inlaid and a steerages will be moved into until spring 2012. The technics for the old and new building will be attached in November 2013. Then the interior furnishing follows.

Besides the workmen start with the dismantling of the present heat- and ventilation technology of the Joseph-Godehard-House within the next weeks. The new technology will be attached from April 2011 till the end of the next year and the whole building will be fully renovated until the middle of 2012. There the administration of the cathedral-museum will move in. The whole ensemble will be inducted after the opening of the restored cathedral in autumn 2014.

The new cathedral-museum will have 1.065 square meters. 580 square meters will have the two-storied St. Anthony's church, 345 square meters will have the likewise two-storied headbuilding and 140 square meters will have the rebuilt hall of knights of the old museum, which will be included into the museum. The cathedral-museum will be connected to a long-distance heating conduction alike the new cathedral and will be heated by a woodcuts combined heat and power station.

The reconstruction and the new building including the restoration of the Joseph- Godehard-House is estimated to cost 9,6 millions euros. Therefrom the diocese pays 3,4 millions euros. 3,5 millions are paid by the EU, one million is paid by the federal state government out of funds of the economy package II. The foundation Lower Saxony will be participating with 900.000 euros, die cloister association with 350.000 euros and further foundations with 400.000 euros in total.